Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.
"Wave to Mommy, Luca," Chuck cooed as he looked across the airplane to see his beautiful bride sitting next to her best friend. He lifted his son's arm to wave at Blair. She had a gentle smile on her face as she waved back, but her eyes showed her hesitation.
He knew she was keeping a secret from him, and he knew what the secret was. She was pregnant again. He couldn't exactly explain how he knew, it was just a feeling that he had and it explained her sudden bouts of exhaustion and random cases of food poisoning. He wasn't blind, and she wasn't as clever at hiding her dashes to the bathroom as she thought. What he didn't know was why she was keeping it a secret from him. He thought he'd made it clear that he would be ready to have another child as soon as she was ready, unless perhaps she wasn't ready.
So he waited, waited for her to tell him her secret, waited for her to come to a decision. He would support her no matter what she decided.
"Say Nate," his best friend tried to coach his name from his son's lips, "Come on, Luca, say Nate."
"Forget it, Archibald," Chuck replied, "Nate isn't going to make the top five. It's going to be Mama, then Dada, then grandma, then grandpa, then grandpére. After that, you may have a shot, but your girlfriend is making quite the push for number six."
"Nate," Nate repeated as he was undeterred by Chuck's response, "Say Nate."
"Don't listen to him, Luca," Chuck babbled as he reached to cover the little brunette's ears. Luca pushed his father's hands away from his ears before he reached for Chuck's hand and brought one of the fingers to his mouth. Everything went into Luca's mouth these days, and Chuck's fingers apparently were his favorite treat.
"He's getting so big," Nate marveled, "I can't believe that he's six months old today."
"Time does fly," Chuck nodded as he wiggled his finger a bit, feeling the first of his son's teeth glide against his finger.
"Serena's already talking about wanting one," Nate admitted, as he glanced towards his girlfriend to see that she and Blair were thoroughly engrossed in their own conversation and likely wouldn't overhear them.
"I'm not exactly surprised," Chuck responded, "She's at the manor nearly every day to have her quality auntie time."
"Luca is the cutest thing in the world, but I don't know that I'm ready for children," Nate admitted.
"You're never ready," Chuck replied as Luca released his fingers and then extended his arms to his father. He was done playing with Nate. He wanted his nap. Chuck settled him against his shoulder. Luca was out almost instantly. "It doesn't mean that you can't be a good father when the time comes."
"Obviously," Nate responded as he observed the pair, "Two years ago, you would have been the last person I would have considered to have children, yet here you are, married with a child. Pigs aren't flying alongside us, are they?"
"It's a sign of the apocalypse, now move on," Chuck replied with a chuckle.
"Not only are you a father, but you're a good father," Nate added, "Luca is comfortable with you. It's usually the nannies raising children in your neighborhood, but you're so involved."
"Blair doesn't want a nanny," Chuck replied, "And honestly now that we're six months in, I don't see a need for one either. That feeling may change down the road when we add to our family, but for now this arrangement works for us."
"Are you talking about more children?" Nate inquired.
"It's been discussed," he nodded, "There hasn't been any definite conclusions reached, but we did agree that we wanted more children."
"How could you not after having this handsome little devil?" Nate replied as he rubbed Luca's back a few times.
Chuck caressed Luca's head as he relaxed into his seat to cuddle up with his son. He could spend hours in this position, and he loved every minute of it. Nate watched his best friend closely. He never thought he'd see the day where he'd see his best friend, Chuck Bass, cuddling with an infant and look as comfortable as he currently was.
"Look at Chuck and Luca. How cute," Serena shrieked, loud enough that both mother and father feared that Luca might wake.
"Keep your voice down," Blair hissed, "Do you know how cranky Luca gets if he's woken from his nap before he's ready? Trust me, you do not want to experience it."
"I'm so excited," Serena shrieked as she settled herself in the seat next to Blair. Chuck and Nate were a short distance away, having a little guy bonding time with Luca. "I can't tell you how much I've need to get out of the city for months."
"Nobody was stopping you and Nate," Blair pointed out, "It was you that didn't want to leave your nephew."
"Can you blame me?" Serena looked towards the sleeping little boy, "He has such chubby little cheeks. I can't resist them."
"They are pretty irresistible," Blair smiled as she watched Chuck snuggle up with Luca. Blair's hand drifted towards her stomach as she caressed her belly.
"I'm sure this second baby's cheeks will be just as adorable," Serena whispered softly.
"Yes, they will," Blair nodded.
"You haven't told Chuck yet?" Serena concluded.
"I don't know how," Blair replied, "I'm hoping the island will inspire me."
"So what are we to expect when we land on this island?" Serena inquired as she shifted the conversation before the two men could overhear, "Are they going to roll out the red carpet and bow down to their queen?"
"No," Blair laughed, "There are currently only two people on the island, our caretakers, Yvechelle and Tomas. Even with the flight crew on the island, there will only be a couple handfuls of people at most. We'll have all sorts of privacy to do as we please."
"That sounds a little dangerous," Serena replied, "And you promise that you and Chuck won't be parading around naked where I can see. Seeing you wouldn't be nearly as traumatic as it would be to see Chuck in all his supposed glory. Seeing his back half in the hospital was quite enough."
"He does have the cutest ass," Blair giggled, "Though it doesn't do the rest of him justice."
"And I pray to God I never find out," Serena stated.
"Nate, trade seats with me," Blair called out to him as she unbuckled her seatbelt and crossed the plane, "I want to sit next to my two favorite men."
"You could sit between me and Chuck and then you could sit next to your three favorite men," Nate suggested.
"Daddy's not here," Blair replied as she waved him towards Serena.
"Ouch," Nate chuckled as he slid out of his seat.
"And keep your hands were we can see them," Blair warned the pair, "There will be no mile high activities going on up here."
"Unless we are taking part in them," Chuck added under his breath.
"Is he asleep?" Blair inquired as she snuggled in against Chuck's shoulder.
"He's out," Chuck nodded slightly.
"I can't believe he's six months old today," Blair marveled as she rubbed Luca's back softly.
"Six months, and we haven't screwed him up yet," he chuckled.
"That we know of, anyways," Blair smiled, "We're probably smothering him."
"I'd rather smother than ignore him," Chuck replied.
"We can never ignore this adorable little man," Blair yawned as she felt a wave of exhaustion hit her.
"Take a nap," Chuck urged her, "We still have a few hours of flight left."
"I'll sleep when we get to the island," Blair shook her head.
"Sleep," he continued to urge her as he ran his fingers along her forearm, "I have other plans for you when we get to the island."
"Is that so?" she gave him a knowing smirk.
"I love you, Blair," Chuck sighed.
"I love you too," she smiled back at him as her eyes felt heavy. Suddenly she was out. She didn't wake until the she felt the wheels touch down as they arrived at their island.
"Welcome back, Mister and Mrs. Bass," Yvechelle greeted the travel party at the door, reaching out to take a hold of Luca's foot, "And who is this?"
"This is our son, Luca," Blair replied as she turned Luca towards Yvechelle so that she could get him to wave at her, "Say hi to Yvechelle, Sweetheart."
"I knew you two would be having a little boy before you left the island. He's just precious," Yvechelle smiled as she waved back to the infant.
"Yes, he is," Chuck nodded as he turned to introduce their traveling companions, "And these are our friends, Serena and Nathaniel."
"Nate," his best friend corrected him. He didn't appreciate anyone else addressing him as formally as Chuck did from time to time. He certainly didn't want to be addressed so formally is such a laid back atmosphere such as this.
"Nate," Yvechelle nodded as she greeted him and Serena with handshakes, "Well come on in. Lunch is waiting for you out on the veranda. I'll see to your belongings."
"Thank you," Chuck replied as he reached for Blair's hand and guided her to the veranda with Nate and Serena bringing up the rear as they took several moments to marvel at their tropically surroundings.
"It's good to be back," Blair sighed happily as she took her seat at the table and placed Luca in her lap.
"I was worried it wouldn't feel as magical the second time around," Chuck replied as he reached for her hand.
"But it feels even better this time," she chimed right in on the thought he was having as it was the same as her own.
"You two should have named this place 'Heaven on Earth'," Serena stated when she and Nate finally joined them, "This place is incredible. Tell me why you two ever went back to New York because I'm seriously considering staying here for the rest of my life."
"You know this is just a vacation, right?" Blair inquired when she realized that her best friend's proclamation sounded a little too real, "We can't really stay here forever. We have lives and a family waiting for us back in New York."
"I know," Serena nodded, "But for the moment, let me have this dream."
"Wait until you taste the feast Yvechelle has created for us," Chuck replied, "I swear I gained ten pounds the last time we were here. Her food is simply too wonderful to resist."
"And she made homemade baby food for Luca," Blair showed him the bowl of fresh pureed bananas that had been prepared specially for their little boy.
"Maybe he'll actually eat this," Chuck thought out loud. They'd tried on several occasions to get Luca to eat baby food and failed spectacularly. The only thing he'd taken to was breast milk, and the pediatrician was encouraging them to find alternatives.
"Take your best shot," Blair baited him.
Chuck lifted Luca into his arms and then settled him into his lap as Blair pushed the bananas and a spoon towards him. She sat back and watched as Chuck lifted the bananas to his lips.
"Come on, Buddy, they taste yummy," Chuck stated as he pressed the spoon to Luca's lips, urging his mouth to open. His son's lips wouldn't budge. "You're as stubborn as your mother. Come on, Luca, open up."
"He still doesn't want it," Blair sighed as she studied her son closely.
"I can't say that I blame him," Chuck eyed Blair suggestively, "If I had regular access to those breasts too, I'd be reluctant to give them up."
"You have such a dirty mind," Blair rolled her eyes as she smiled.
"Which you love," he chuckled as he spooned in the bananas into his own mouth as Luca watched on. Suddenly Luca reached for his father's hand and tried to bring the spoon to his mouth but missed and hit the side of his face. "Hold on, Buddy," Chuck stated as he reloaded the spoon with more bananas that he brought to Luca's lips. To the amazement of both parents, Luca's mouth opened right up and in slipped the spoon.
"He swallowed," Blair stammered out.
"So he swallowed a bit of bananas, what is so earthshattering about that?" Nate inquired.
"That's the first time he's ever done it, and we've been trying for weeks to get him to take to things other than breast milk," Blair explained.
"Two months," Chuck corrected her as the second spoonful went in just as easily.
"Guess he just needed to see his daddy eat what he eats," Serena chimed in.
"You're getting so big, Luca," Blair cooed as she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Luca giggled as he pushed his mother away and waited eagerly for the next spoonful. Blair turned towards Serena, "Could you and Nate watch him for a few hours later on? I want to take Chuck to the hot springs on the other side of the island for a little quality time."
"Sure," Serena nodded, "He can help us make a sand castle."
"Just make sure to keep him out of the sun as much as possible," Blair requested, "I'd hate for his delicate skin to get sunburned."
"And don't bury him in the sand," Chuck added as he spooned in another bite for Luca.
"Give us a little credit," Nate rolled his eyes.
"Just covering our bases," Chuck replied, "You have been known not to follow instructions on occasion. How many diapers has he put on backwards?"
"We've lost count," Blair chimed in.
"The front and back look identical, who can tell?" Nate defended himself.
"Yet Blair and I manage to figure it out many times a day," Chuck laughed.
"Fine, I'm a horrible babysitter," Nate threw up his hands in surrender, "But I have Serena to help me out, so we'll be fine. She watches him all the time."
"Maybe we should fly Lily or Eleanor in," Blair looked to Chuck with a teasing glint in her eyes.
Chuck read her glimmer perfectly, "They are the only two people that we can truly trust to watch our most precious treasure."
"Hey!" Serena exclaimed, "I would never let anything bad happen to my nephew. You both know that."
Blair began giggling in response as she turned her attention to their meal. There were make sounds of delight as the trio ate their meals while Chuck continued to feed Luca.
"You have to taste this, Chuck," Blair suddenly forked a bite of her meal towards his mouth, "I don't know how Yvechelle continually manages to top one dish after the next, but she's outdone herself yet again."
"She has indeed," Chuck nodded as he swallows the bite. Luca looked between his mother and father and then opened his mouth in Blair's direction as if he was waiting for her to feed him.
"Not yet my sweet baby boy," Blair cooed as she pecked at his cheek, "Let's get you to eat regular baby food on a more consistent basis before we try big boy food."
Luca pouted for a few moments before Chuck shoveled in another spoonful of bananas. His mood improved greatly.
TBC. . .
So one chapter left and an epilogue.
And for those that want to mark their calendars, Gossip Girl premieres on October 8 at 9:00 pm EST in the US, not sure for those outside the US. Either way it's still entirely too far away for my tastes.
Again I'm thanking my beta for her awesome work. I know I'm repeating myself, but she's helped me make this story the best that it can be.
Last, but certainly never least, to all you fantastic readers and reviewers, thank you so much.